Katanas Don't Belong in Bathtubs
by MidnightWhisper7
Summary: Rikku has her own way of remembering those left behind. Oneshot.


**Katanas Don't Belong in Bathtubs**

**By MidnightWhisper7

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A drabble about Rikku. I noticed in X-2 that many of her dresspheres use the swords of Auron and Tidus. This is a late-night idea spawned from boredom and a thirst for new ideas.

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She remembered them by their swords. Well, not really just by that. Who could forget the way Tidus's face would break into a grin as told her of some new plot to get Wakka and Lulu together, or that light that went into his ocean-blue eyes when Yuna gave him her sweet, quiet smile? Neither could she forget Mr. Legendary-Pants Auron, with his way of telling her "I told you so" in a wordless grunt, or how he would squint one-eyed at her in disapproval after she spilled a whole pot of Lulu-made stew into the campfire (she was really just trying to help, honest!).

But the swords were a part of them just as surely as Tidus's shark-fang earring or Auron's red coat. They were pieces that she could hold in her hands, each sword having its own unique feel. The first time she tried holding Auron's katana she nearly fell over from the weight of it. She had to have gained a little muscle in her arms just from the effort of carrying it. She would sometimes play-act in front of the mirror while wearing her Samurai dressphere, the katana balanced on her shoulder, remembering the time he stood that way before slicing up an Adamantoise that was about to squish her. Or she would set the tip of the blade on the ground in front of her and tap her chin, and mimic in a deep voice, "That's how it's done." One time Brother knocked on the bathroom door asking what was taking her so long, and she had scrambled into her Thief dressphere and hid the sword in the bathtub. Somehow it seemed too personal for anyone else to know about. Only Yunie really understood, and the poor girl was already so filled to the brim with thinking about Tidus that Rikku didn't want to bother her about it.

She never really liked wearing the Dark Knight because it reminded her even more of Auron than the Samurai for some reason. All about sacrifice and death and not enough about sunshine or smiles. So she let Paine have that one without a complaint, although she tried it out sometimes to put herself in his shoes. And it had an added bonus in that it worked pretty darn well in scaring any fiends within a ten-mile radius. She would have liked to say that it was fun to pretend to be the Legendary Guardian of Doom, but usually it reminded her too much of the fact that he was dead (had been dead the whole time she'd known him)and of all the times she had done something stupid in front of him, and then Yuna would notice but wouldn't say anything because she was Yunie.

It was so completely different pretending to be Tidus. His swords were cool to the touch, like water shimmering on her skin, although it was really only the Brotherhood that felt like that. But Yunie got that one, and Rikku thought she deserved it, too. Except that Yunie didn't like to use it or any of the other swords very much. Rikku guessed it was because Yuna was still a mage at heart, although she wasn't an expert on such things. Still, it was fun dressing up in her Warrior outfit, leaning forward on one leg like Tidus with his broadsword in her hand. She would pretend that she was him as she zipped forward and sliced through a nasty little Agama or some-such fiend, and as she gave a little victory dance she would glance Paine giving her a look that reminded her so much of Auron that she was sure Paine was Lulu and Auron's lovechild. The red eyes and signature Auron Glare seemed like proof to her.

But mostly she was just happy letting the past stay behind her. She would never forget the friends she made while traveling with Yunie on the pilgrimage two years ago, but she also had to think about her future and the future of the Al Bhed. Brother was next in line once her pops kicked the bucket, and Fayth help her if she would stand to watch it. She bet that Shiva would have known a thing or two about being a leader but the Frostie Queen and the others had gone poof in a show of moon-bright pyreflies, so the second-best was to talk to Yunie about it, or maybe even Commander Lucil if she saw her again.

They were so different, the blond blitzball player and the Master of Stoicism himself, and they would always be in her memories, both the good ones and the bad. Besides, it was handy to have a sword around, especially when it involved a Shantak trying to eat her head for a midafternoon Rikku-snack. It was what they would have wanted, after all.

Although she still had to explain the scratches in the sides of the bathtub to Brother.


End file.
